The Holocaust was a period of time in between 1933 and 1945, in which a man named Adolf Hitler created a mass murder and genocide of over 11 million people because of their race and color.
10 Facts About the Holocaust
The Holocaust began in 1933 and ended in 1945, when Germany was defeated by the Allies
Around 11 million people were killed in the holocaust, and about 6 million of them were Jews.
In 1939, the Nazi government started ordering all Jews to wear yellow Stars of David on their clothes, so that they could be easily recognized and targeted.
Jews were forced to live in specific areas of large cities, called ghettos.
In March, 1941, Warsaw became home to the largest ghetto during the holocaust, the population rising to 445,000 people.
Nazis targeted homosexuals, disabled people, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Gypsies along with Jews and Communists.
After the concentration camps had been liberated, thousands of people who had been starved, beaten, and worked to exhaustion died within the first week of being set free.
Once the war ended, some German citizens were forced to look at the dead bodies from concentration camps because the Allies felt that they needed to he crimes that occurred during the Holocaust.
At the Treblinka concentration camp, over 870,000 Jews were killed with only a staff of 150 people.
In the gas chambers that were used to kill Jew, the gas rose from the lower layer of the chamber first, causing the victims to climb on top of each other in an attempt to breathe.
Survivor Story One: Leo Heiman
Leo Heiman was 12 years old when World War 2 began, and was living with his family in Warsaw, Poland. Acknowledging the fact that the war would have terrible consequences, Leo's family ran to the Russian border, where they bribed a farmer to take them to Leo's great-grandmother's pitch factory in Baranowicze, Belarus. One day, the Nazis arrived at the pitch factory early one day, because someone had informed them about the Hiemans. Fortunately, every morning the family would hide out in the woods and return every night, so they managed to keep their existence a secret. However, when the family heard about the German's arrival, they ran into the forest and joined a Russian Partisans' group. Leo's father, Dov, gathered many Jews to join the group. On an ambush in 1942, Dov decided to leave his hiding place and fight, which led to him getting shot and killed by the German soldiers. 15 year old Leo came back for his father in the night, and buried him in the snow, after taking two buttons, a piece of mirror, and a handkerchief soaked in blood from Dov's pocket. After the war ended, Leo moved to Haifa, Israel with his mother and then joined the Israeli army. Years later, he became a writer and reporter, his most popular book called, "I was a Soviet Guerilla". Leo's daughter was 6 years old when he died of a heart attack.
Survivor Story Two: Jack Zelcer
Jack Zelcer was born on November 22nd, 1933, in Belgium. Prior to the war, Jack had over 120 family members, however, afterwards, he only had 120. Jack was 6 when the war began, and 12 when it ended. In an interview, Jack stated that his most vivid memory was when his mother was lying on top of him in the forest in Belgium. He knew it was for his own protection, although he wasn't aware of the exact reason why. The best thing that ever happened to him was when he was moved from a refugee camp for Jews, to a kind family from Switzerland. The most difficult part of the war for Jack was being separated from his parents for 5 years.
Picture of Sonia Wellis Frenkel, a Holocaust survivor
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/ This site includes the life stories of several holocaust survivors, complete with several pictures and lots of detail.
This is a gas chamber in Majdanek, Poland This photo, taken in 1981, depicts the dormitories in the Auschuwitz Concentration Camp in Poland Barbed wire fences surrounding the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland Some survivors of the Ebanesee Concentration Camp in Austria This photo was taken in 1941 of two children in the Warsaw ghetto
What I learned from watching Safe Haven:Warsaw Zoo
Safe Haven:Warsaw Zoo taught me about the Polish Resistance trying to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. I also learned about the Zabinski family, and how they hid over 300 men, women and children in the animal's cages. The lesson I learned from the movie is that one small person can make a big difference.
Why are paperclips symbols of the Holocaust?
In 1998, a class of eighth graders from a middle school in Whitwell, Tennessee, created the Paperclip Project, which was originally just a project to teach the children about tolerance. However, the students made the decision to try to collect 6,000,000 to represent the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I learned that their inspiration was gained from discovering that Norwegian rebels from World War 2 wore paperclips on their lapels as a silent protest.
My Personal Feelings About the Holocaust and What I Learned
The Holocaust was a terrible disaster that hit humanity. Adolf Hitler was a maniac and a fanatic. I believe that if all the Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witness', disabled people, Communists, and homosexuals been killed on his behalf, he would have continued to enlist more soldiers into Nazi army, in an effort to creating an entire race of blonde-haired, blue-eyed, arian citizens. Hitler would not tolerate color, deformities, religion, infirmities, or anyone with their own beliefs. Hitler's downfall, however, was that he was a small man in a large world, and he had enemies as well as allies. The Holocaust was an ugly period of time that will forever be a black stain on Germany and should never be forgotten.
Sources
Google
Wikipedia
About.com
Dosomething.org
Randomhistory.com
Ushmm.org
History.com
JewishVirtualLibrary.org
The Holocaust was a period of time in between 1933 and 1945, in which a man named Adolf Hitler created a mass murder and genocide of over 11 million people because of their race and color.
10 Facts About the Holocaust
The Holocaust began in 1933 and ended in 1945, when Germany was defeated by the Allies
Around 11 million people were killed in the holocaust, and about 6 million of them were Jews.
In 1939, the Nazi government started ordering all Jews to wear yellow Stars of David on their clothes, so that they could be easily recognized and targeted.
Jews were forced to live in specific areas of large cities, called ghettos.
In March, 1941, Warsaw became home to the largest ghetto during the holocaust, the population rising to 445,000 people.
Nazis targeted homosexuals, disabled people, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Gypsies along with Jews and Communists.
After the concentration camps had been liberated, thousands of people who had been starved, beaten, and worked to exhaustion died within the first week of being set free.
Once the war ended, some German citizens were forced to look at the dead bodies from concentration camps because the Allies felt that they needed to he crimes that occurred during the Holocaust.
At the Treblinka concentration camp, over 870,000 Jews were killed with only a staff of 150 people.
In the gas chambers that were used to kill Jew, the gas rose from the lower layer of the chamber first, causing the victims to climb on top of each other in an attempt to breathe.
Survivor Story One: Leo Heiman
Leo Heiman was 12 years old when World War 2 began, and was living with his family in Warsaw, Poland. Acknowledging the fact that the war would have terrible consequences, Leo's family ran to the Russian border, where they bribed a farmer to take them to Leo's great-grandmother's pitch factory in Baranowicze, Belarus. One day, the Nazis arrived at the pitch factory early one day, because someone had informed them about the Hiemans. Fortunately, every morning the family would hide out in the woods and return every night, so they managed to keep their existence a secret. However, when the family heard about the German's arrival, they ran into the forest and joined a Russian Partisans' group. Leo's father, Dov, gathered many Jews to join the group. On an ambush in 1942, Dov decided to leave his hiding place and fight, which led to him getting shot and killed by the German soldiers. 15 year old Leo came back for his father in the night, and buried him in the snow, after taking two buttons, a piece of mirror, and a handkerchief soaked in blood from Dov's pocket. After the war ended, Leo moved to Haifa, Israel with his mother and then joined the Israeli army. Years later, he became a writer and reporter, his most popular book called, "I was a Soviet Guerilla". Leo's daughter was 6 years old when he died of a heart attack.
Survivor Story Two: Jack Zelcer
Jack Zelcer was born on November 22nd, 1933, in Belgium. Prior to the war, Jack had over 120 family members, however, afterwards, he only had 120. Jack was 6 when the war began, and 12 when it ended. In an interview, Jack stated that his most vivid memory was when his mother was lying on top of him in the forest in Belgium. He knew it was for his own protection, although he wasn't aware of the exact reason why. The best thing that ever happened to him was when he was moved from a refugee camp for Jews, to a kind family from Switzerland. The most difficult part of the war for Jack was being separated from his parents for 5 years.
http://www.holocaustsurvivors.org/ This site includes the life stories of several holocaust survivors, complete with several pictures and lots of detail.
http://www.ushmm.org/learn/students/the-holocaust-a-learning-site-for-students This site includes a complete timeline of the Holocaust, from The Nazi Rule, to the Final Solution, along with explicit information about "The Nazi Camp System", "Rescue and Resistance", and "Jews in Prewar Germany".
http://annefrank.com/ The site includes detailed information about Anne Frank and her life
http://www.remember.org/guide/Facts.root.hitler.html This site includes in-depth information about Adolf Hitler's life before the Holocaust
http://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-features/collections-highlights This site includes detailed information all about the holocaust, and several stories about Holocaust victims and survivors
April 16th, 1945: Survivors of the Bunchenwald Concentration Camp lying in their barracks after the Allies Liberation
This is a gas chamber in Majdanek, Poland
This photo, taken in 1981, depicts the dormitories in the Auschuwitz Concentration Camp in Poland
Barbed wire fences surrounding the Auschwitz Concentration Camp in Poland
Some survivors of the Ebanesee Concentration Camp in Austria
This photo was taken in 1941 of two children in the Warsaw ghetto
What I learned from watching Safe Haven:Warsaw Zoo
Safe Haven:Warsaw Zoo taught me about the Polish Resistance trying to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. I also learned about the Zabinski family, and how they hid over 300 men, women and children in the animal's cages. The lesson I learned from the movie is that one small person can make a big difference.
Why are paperclips symbols of the Holocaust?
In 1998, a class of eighth graders from a middle school in Whitwell, Tennessee, created the Paperclip Project, which was originally just a project to teach the children about tolerance. However, the students made the decision to try to collect 6,000,000 to represent the Jews killed in the Holocaust. I learned that their inspiration was gained from discovering that Norwegian rebels from World War 2 wore paperclips on their lapels as a silent protest.
My Personal Feelings About the Holocaust and What I Learned
The Holocaust was a terrible disaster that hit humanity. Adolf Hitler was a maniac and a fanatic. I believe that if all the Jews, Gypsies, Jehovah's Witness', disabled people, Communists, and homosexuals been killed on his behalf, he would have continued to enlist more soldiers into Nazi army, in an effort to creating an entire race of blonde-haired, blue-eyed, arian citizens. Hitler would not tolerate color, deformities, religion, infirmities, or anyone with their own beliefs. Hitler's downfall, however, was that he was a small man in a large world, and he had enemies as well as allies. The Holocaust was an ugly period of time that will forever be a black stain on Germany and should never be forgotten.
Sources
GoogleWikipedia
About.com
Dosomething.org
Randomhistory.com
Ushmm.org
History.com
JewishVirtualLibrary.org